Page 15 of The Mafia Man's Baby Deal
“Yeah, in a way.It was what kept the cops off my back.Whenever something was called in about me, they were the ones on the scene.They would find the drugs and take them.Anyway, I got so sick of it that I went to one of their warehouses and blew it up.”
She pulled back from washing his body.“You’re serious?”
“Yeah, I might also want to point out that being the bastard son of a mafia boss, I don’t exactly follow proper etiquette when it comes to dealing with enemies.I see a target, and I take care of it.It’s what I do.”
“Will you stop that?”she asked.
“Stop what?”
“Calling yourself that name?”She gave him a pointed look.
“It’s what I am.”
“No, it’s not.You’re Mateo Cole.Stop wondering what your dad would think.He’s gone now, and you’re your own man.Your own boss.Don’t let him continue to dictate who you are from beyond the grave.”She finished washing his body, and he looked at her.
“It doesn’t change who I am.”
“And I’m an unwanted kid, Mateo.You want me to keep saying that?I’m the unwanted kid of a drug addict.I don’t know who my father is.He didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”She raised both of her brows.
“Have you ever been curious to find out?”
“No,” Ella said.“Some stuff you don’t need to know.Some things are better left dead and buried.”
She reached over and touched his cheek.“I’m going to grab the first aid kit.”
He didn’t even have to tell her where it was, as she went to the cupboard under the sink, pulling out the red box.She came back to him, and she took out a plain white sterilized wipe.He held himself perfectly still as she got to work cleaning the cut.
“Do you want to tell me what happened today?”she asked.
“Yeah, the Bratva I took care of has a new leader.Some man named Han.Don’t know his last name.They had a shipment of girls come into a warehouse that had my name on it.The cops intercepted and I got the call.”
“Girls?Like actual living girls?”
He nodded.“Yeah.Like I said, it was one part of the deal my father made that I didn’t like.”
“Trafficking?”
“Yep.”
“And you don’t do it?”
“Fuck, no.Trust me, there are a lot of women willing to work in brothels selling their pussy for good money.You don’t need to go kidnapping women off the street, drugging them up, and forcing them to do shit they don’t want to do.”He rubbed his temples.“See, another reason I was not considered the ideal son.”
“But a lot of people that wanted you to be in charge?”
“True, but they also didn’t like the fact I had ...standards.”And then, he couldn’t help but laugh.“I’m a guy that kills people without feeling, and I have standards.”He rubbed his temple.
“There’s nothing wrong being that way,” Ella said.“You can do bad things and be a good person.”She shrugged.“Life takes it out of all of us.Some of us fall, others rise.You didn’t fall, Mateo.You rose up and took matters into your own hands.”
“You can dress it up any way you need to, babe.It doesn’t change who I am.”
“As it happens, I quite like who you are.”
And she continued to fix the cut on the side of his face.
